30 November 2015: Participants discussed a roadmap for integrating project results into national and community-level planning processes at the final review meeting of the Global Environment Facility’s Pacific Alliance for Sustainability (GEFPAS) Integrated Island Biodiversity (IIB) project. The project, which included activities in the Cook Islands, Nauru, Tonga and Tuvalu, is scheduled to officially close in June 2016.

GEFPAS funded the IIB project, which was implemented by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and executed by the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP). The final review meeting took place from 21-26 November in the Vava’u Islands, Tonga.

Among its achievements, IIB completed rapid biodiversity assessments for the Cook Islands, Nauru and Tonga, with information on the distribution and status of terrestrial and marine biodiversity. These assessments are expected to be used in identifying and managing conservation areas in the three countries.

Participants at the review meeting discussed, inter alia, a roadmap for taking project results forward, such as through integrating outcomes into national and community level planning processes and current and future activities related to island biodiversity. Participants also agreed on the process for closing the project. [SPREP Press Release] [SPREP Website on GEFPAS IIB project]